Situated just across the bay from Hong Kong, the city of Shenzhen has transformed from a small fishing town of 30,000 to a booming city of over 10 million people in 40 years – and has grown over 200 times its original size since 1980. Along the way, the character of Shenzhen’s bayfront was radically altered. Over 65 km2 of marsh and shallow bay were filled to create more land and even nearby mountains were mined for fill. The landfill operations all but obliterated the native mangrove and salt marsh shoreline, and with it, rich marine, intertidal and coastal wildlife habitat. In a partnership with local clients, SWA’s Shenzhen Bay Coast Master Plan and its resulting projects will restore acres of mangrove coastline and marsh habitat, deepen the bay to reverse siltation, and design sensitive public access to these naturalized features. In addition to coastal restoration, Shenzhen’s new urban population demands new open-space amenities. Inland from the shore, the Master Plan proposes a more intensively recreational park, which would include a ferry landing, aquatic center, playfields, picnic sites, concessions, an amphitheatre and other attractions. Finally, a new planned residential community will extend from the existing street grid, and offer pedestrian connections to the restored coastline and recreation spaces.
Nantong Waterfront
A prominent riverfront city in Jiangsu Province, Nantong has long been shaped by its proximity to the Yangtze River, Hao River, Tonglv Canal, and Rengang River. The establishment of Nantong Port in 1904 and subsequent wharf construction drove decades of industrial growth, but as shipping operations shifted downstream to deeper waters, older docks in this area ...
Riverside Park South
Located on the West Side of Manhattan on the scenic Hudson River shoreline, Riverside Park South is a massive, multiphase project of sweeping ambition and historic scope. Combining new green space, new infrastructure, and the renovation of landmark industrial buildings, the plan – originally devised by Thomas Balsley Associates in 1991 – is an extension of Fre...
Honggang Park
Nestled between two hills in Shenzhen’s Luohu District, Honggang Park is a green corridor bringing over 80 acres of open space through the city’s dense fabric. Celebrating the site’s stark topography, SWA’s design carefully threads hiking trails along the slopes to minimize ecological disturbance, with stairs providing shortcuts along switchbacks. Altogether, ...
Nickerson Gardens Playground
Originally designed in 1955 by architect Paul Revere Williams, Nickerson Gardens is a 1,066-unit apartment complex in Watts, South Los Angeles — the largest social housing project west of the Mississippi. Core to Williams’ vision was an emphasis on shared open space, but its central playground, neglected for years, fell into a state of disrepair. In collaborat...